Restaurant-Worthy Rib-Eye Steaks at Home? Yes, It’s Possible

Spoon an easy browned butter sauce with garlic and herbs over the top, and your diners might start addressing you as “Chef.”

Careful technique and your trusty skillet produce extraordinary results. Steve Klise/TCA

With beefy rib-eye steaks, a solid cast-iron skillet, and a few simple techniques, you can make a truly superlative main course. Spoon an easy browned butter sauce with garlic and herbs over the top, and your diners might start addressing you as “Chef.”

Dry-brining (salting in advance) these thick steaks not only seasoned their interiors but also resulted in more tender, juicy beef. Drying the steaks on a rack and thoroughly heating the heavy cast-iron skillet removed any potential for cold zones and ensured that the steaks built a flavorful, seared-on crust. Flipping them often in the skillet and reducing the heat after the first two flips reduced any overcooked gray band, leaving the rib eyes’ interior pink and juicy.

Finally, sizzling butter, whole herb sprigs, garlic cloves, and shallots together in the fat left in the skillet created a deeply aromatic sauce that we poured over the steaks as they rested.

Cast-Iron Seared Rib-Eye Steaks

Serves 4 to 6

• 2 (1- to 1 1/2-pound) boneless rib-eye steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick, trimmed
• 2 to 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or alternative
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 small shallots, peeled and quartered through root end
• 3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon flake sea salt

Sprinkle steaks evenly on both sides with kosher salt and place on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Pat steaks dry with paper towels and sprinkle with pepper. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add oil to skillet and heat until just smoking. Place steaks in skillet and cook, pressing on tops with tongs occasionally to ensure even contact with pan, until lightly browned on first side, about 2 minutes. Flip steaks and cook until lightly browned on the second side, about 2 minutes.

Flip steaks again, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, flipping every 2 minutes, until steaks are well browned and meat registers 115 to 120 degrees F (for medium-rare), 7 to 12 minutes. Transfer steaks to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish and tent with aluminum foil.

Add butter to the fat left in the skillet and melt over medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, thyme sprigs, and rosemary sprigs and cook, stirring often, until browned butter solids cling to edges of garlic and shallots are deep golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and spoon butter sauce and aromatics over the steak; tent with foil and let rest for 10 minutes (do not wash skillet; set the skillet on a cool, heatproof surface).

Transfer steaks to a cutting board, then return sauce and aromatics, along with any accumulated juices, to the now-empty skillet. Slice steaks on a slight bias. Return steaks to skillet, arranging aromatics around slices. Sprinkle steaks with lemon zest and flake sea salt. Serve.

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